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Young Children’s Object Play: A Window on Development

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Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Adults can learn a great deal about young children’s development by watching them play with toys or other objects. Insights derived from theoretical and empirical explorations of object play are particularly useful for early childhood professionals who assess the development of preschool children with disabilities. The following discussion reviews theoretical and empirical literature relevant to young children’s object play and suggests implications of research findings for practitioners. The review emphasizes the cognitive prerequisites for object play, the sequential development of object play, the relationship between play and language, and the characteristics of object play in young children with developmental disabilities.

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Acknowledgment

The author’s work is supported in part by grants from the Maternal Child Health Bureau and Administration on Developmental Disabilities, United States Department of Health and Human Services.

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  1. Children’s Evaluation and Rehabilitation Center, Rose F. Kennedy Center, Department of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 1410 Pelham Parkway South, Bronx, New York, 10461, USA

    Susan Vig

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Vig, S. Young Children’s Object Play: A Window on Development. J Dev Phys Disabil 19, 201–215 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-007-9048-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-007-9048-6

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